Global New Product Launch (NPL) Application- SharePoint Consulting & Application Support

Client Overview

Our client is a global Italian-Dutch confectionery company. It manufactures confectionery and chewing gum products. The company operates through many subsidiaries. It serves customers in more than 159 countries.

The company handles activities for product development and product launches worldwide. It utilizes a NPL (New Product Launch) solution for the proper management of these activities. Therefore, our client required ongoing support for the application. They also needed support for issue resolution and improvements.

Client Requirements

The client required reliable support for their global NPL application. It included many business teams and several stages of product launch. Users required help with app issues, process questions, and change requests. Coordination between local and global stakeholders was necessary as part of the support model.

Provide functional support for the NPL application.
Provide technical assistance for any application related issue.
Assist in solving user reported issues.
Provide assistance to users for process related queries.
Review business needs prior to modifications.
Provide assistance for workflow related issues in NPL.
Review Change Requests before implementing them.
Verify fixes and application changes.
Provide assistance for the release of applications and for changes in production.
Provide assistance related to access and role issues.
Provide assistance in improving application performance.
Co-ordinate with Key Users and Super Users.

Project Summary

Our client required ongoing assistance for its New Products Launch (NPL) application. This application supports product launch activities across different teams and locations. It includes Marketing, QA/QC, R&D, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain. Hence, the client needed help with all kinds of issues related to the application, process questions, and change requests.

To meet this requirement, Enaviya provided SharePoint Consulting and Application Support for the existing NPL application, which included problem analysis, workflow support, change request review, testing, and production support. It also included support for user access and improvements to the application.

The process of support involved Key Users, Super Users, and the Global SCM Network. The Key Users reported problems and proposed new ideas. Super Users reviewed these requests and discussed the required changes. The Global SCM Network reviewed major changes before implementation. This helped to monitor app issues and improvements in a structured way.

Challenges

Prior to the support engagement, the customer experienced various difficulties in managing the global NPL application. It consisted of multiple business teams across different geographic locations. It also operated with several kinds of projects, processes, and rules. This made the app harder to manage and use.

Global Process Complexity

The application of NPL was used in different geographical locations as well as business units. Thus, it was very challenging to manage a common process among these groups.

Difficult Coordination Across Business Teams

Marketing, QA/QC, R&D, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain Teams were involved in this process. Managing activities across these teams made coordination more difficult.

Different types of NPL Projects

The system managed Full, Medium, and Short type NPL projects. Each project follows a different procedure. This made the NPL process more complicated.

Complicated Process Regulations

The NPL process specifies rules regarding recipes, packaging, milestones, as well as project status. Managing the rules & regulations across the process was quite complex.

Process Dependencies

Certain activities in one phase were affecting the next phases of the NPL process. Consequently, this has led to dependencies across different parts of an application.

User Issues

Users experienced app-related issues and process-related questions while using the NPL solution. These issues affected on their daily work.

Challenging Change Management

Due to the requirements of the business, changes had to be introduced to the NPL system. Creating the necessary changes while keeping the pre-existing process without affecting was quite a challenging process.

User Access Issues

Users of the NPL system have different roles within the process of NPL. Access management was complicated in this case.

Solution Implemented

To address these issues, Enaviya provided SharePoint consulting and application support services for the existing NPL application. The solution covered application issues, queries regarding business processes, workflow problems, change requests, testing, and production support. Furthermore, the solution also included support for new improvements on the basis of business feedback. Our solution helped to maintain the app and support its daily business activities.

Application Support

Assistance was provided in functional and technical terms concerning the NPL application. As a result, users were able to resolve any issues related to the application or processes.

Issue Analysis

Reported Issues were reviewed to understand the roots of the problems. This helps to identify whether the issue is link to app or a business process.

Workflow Support

Support was given for NPL workflow and process problems. This allowed users to handle problems in various levels of the product launch process.

Management of Change Requests

Change Requests were reviewed prior to implementation. The impact of all changes on the application and the business process was also considered.

Fix and Enhancement Validation

The application fixes and enhancements were tested before the launch. This shows that the changes worked as expected. It also helps to detect issues before changes were made available to the users.

User Access Assistance

The user access and permissions problems were analysed as part of the support process. This ensured that the right access was provided to the users based on their roles.

Business Process Support

Assistance was provided to users in terms of both application-related questions and queries regarding business processes. As a result, users were able to make use of the NPL application more easily.

Ongoing Enhancement

The feedback received from users has played a vital role in identifying aspects of the application that could be improved. The opinions expressed by users have been useful in making changes to the application. The feedback has also helped to guide future updates to the app.

Global Stakeholders Co-ordination

The NPL application combined users and teams from various geographical locations and fields of expertise. Issues and improvement requests were handled by collaborating with Key Users, Super Users, and the Global SCM Network.

Core Modules Implemented

Final Result

The SharePoint consulting and application support project ensured the smooth functioning of the NPL application. Application users experienced better services for the application issues and business process related issues. Our client managed to have better control over the changes of the application and improvements.

Improved Application Stability

The NPL app remained reliable in carrying out daily business activities. As a result, users managed to do their work with fewer issues related to the application.

Better User Experience

Users managed to operate the application more easily without glitches. This resulted in users being more effective in carrying out their NPL-related tasks.

Reduced disruption

The application issues were solved with less impact on day-to-day operations. This helped maintain continuity in product launch work.

Better Change Control

Application changes were handled in a more systematic manner. This significantly helped to reduce the risk of affecting ongoing business processes.

Improved Business Continuity

The NPL application continued to support product launch activities across different teams despite different locations. This helped to easily monitor ongoing business operations across all the units.

Continuous Application Improvement

The application continued to advance to meet the business needs based on stakeholder feedback over time. This way the solution has remained relevant to changing business requirements.

Tools & Technologies Used

4me

ITSM

Project Web App (PWA)

SharePoint On-Premises

SLA Management

Industry

Confectionery